KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners determined the fate of the future of the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant property in its Feb. 10 meeting.
As discussed at previous meetings, the board “officially dissolved the county’s long-dormant Sunflower Community Redevelopment Authority and amended the redevelopment agreement with Sunflower Redevelopment, LLC,” according to a BOCC news release.
The amendment mentions the annexation of 6,000 acres south of K-10 Highway by the city of De Soto.
“The actions taken by the BOCC [Thursday] are a good step forward to begin redevelopment,” Chairman Ed Eilert said in a news release. “The board’s action supports the opportunity of economic development, which will benefit the City of De Soto and Johnson County.”
Clean-up and redevelopment have been discussed over time as the area has continued to sit vacant.
In 2005, the U.S. Army designated the Sunflower Redevelopment, LLC, as the owner and developer for the property. And with the amendment to the redevelopment agreement, it “protects the beneficiaries of park land and other public uses.”
These actions taken by the BOCC match those of the De Soto City Council on Nov. 18, 2021.
During that November meeting, the council agreed on a pre-development agreement in which a majority of the northern portion of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, specifically 6,376 acres, would be annexed.
While nothing is confirmed, speculation of this annexation in proximity to the passing of the Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion Act bill has led some to believe this would be the possible site of the $4 million economic development Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Lt. Gov. David Toland have said would benefit the state.
The goal of APEX, which Kelly passed Friday, is to create tools for the success of the state in competing nationally and globally for large economic development projects, according to a release from Kelly’s office.
Last week, she told KSHB 41 News she hopes such projects will keep engineers from state schools in Kansas rather than seeking work elsewhere.
The business that would benefit with more than $1 billion in tax breaks for the undisclosed project is still yet to be named.
Officials have said Kansas is competing with another state for the project, and secrecy will be maintained until the corporation decides within the next three weeks, approximately.
Reports say the other state in contention is Oklahoma.
